Ella Lake
Cook County, MinnesotaView mapDirections
Minnesota PCA publishes the water-quality measurements for Ella Lake. Here is what has been measured.
- 26 ft max depth
- Limited data
Ella Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.9 µg/L.
Ella Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota with an estimated average depth of about 26 feet. Limited fish-species data available. No public access — the lake is private or restricted.
Source: EPA Water Quality Portal sampling records, Minnesota DNR LakeFinder, last sampled 2022-09-29. Methodology: how these readings are compared.
Swimming conditions
No readingLimited data
Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
Whether Ella Lake is safe to swim in today is a call for the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency and the Minnesota DNR and the county health department, who post current advisories. LakeQuality does not issue swimming clearances.
Water quality measurements for Ella Lake
These are the measurements Minnesota PCA publishes for Ella Lake, shown as reported. The condition class beside each reading is the EPA National Lakes Assessment class for this lake’s ecoregion.
Murky, only visible to about 6 ft. Phosphorus 4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a 1.9 µg/L. TSI 37.
| Measure | Reading | Where it sits |
|---|---|---|
| Water clarity (Secchi depth) | 6ft | Measured, not scored How deep a black-and-white disk stays visible from the surface. Higher is clearer. |
| Total phosphorus | 4µg/L | Measured, not scored The nutrient that most limits algae growth in freshwater. More phosphorus, more algae potential. |
| Chlorophyll-a (algae) | 1.9µg/L | Measured, not scored The green pigment in algae — a direct measure of how much algae is in the water. |
| Trophic state (TSI)Carlson's 0–100 index of how much algae a lake can support, from clarity, phosphorus and chlorophyll-a. | 37 | Oligotrophic OligotrophicMesotrophicEutrophicHypereutrophic |
Low nutrients, clear water. No reading is a swimming clearance.
Ask about Ella Lake
Answers come straight from the public measurements and survey records on this page.
Lake Details
Max depth
~26 ft est.
Public access
No
Listed by Minnesota PCA
Depth marked “est.” is a modeled maximum from GLOBathy (Khazaei et al. 2022, CC0), not a measured survey. Minnesota has not published bathymetry for Ella Lake.
Lake Size & Watershed
Watershed (drainage) area
1 sq mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Surface area
37 acres
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Shoreline
1.4 mi
HydroLAKES / HydroSHEDS
Elevation
1,860 ft
Size, shoreline, and watershed area from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS). Mean depth here is modelled, not surveyed — HydroLAKES v1.0 estimates lake depth from surrounding terrain rather than from soundings. Treat it as an approximation, and prefer a state bathymetric survey where one exists.
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Fishing Ella Lake
Nearby Lakes in Cook County
Frequently asked questions about Ella Lake
Where is Ella Lake?
- Ella Lake is a lake in Cook County, Minnesota. Its water-quality measurements are published by Minnesota PCA and shown on this page as reported.
What is the water quality of Ella Lake?
- Ella Lake in Cook County, Minnesota has water-quality measurements published by Minnesota PCA, shown here as reported. Water clarity: 6 ft visibility. Phosphorus: 4 µg/L. Chlorophyll-a (algae): 1.9 µg/L.
Is Ella Lake safe to swim in?
- Nutrient and algae readings are not a swimming clearance. Check local advisories before you swim.
How deep is Ella Lake?
- No published bathymetric survey covers Ella Lake, so its depth has not been measured. The HydroLAKES global model estimates an average depth of about 26 feet, but that is a modelled estimate derived from surrounding terrain rather than a measurement on the water, so treat it as approximate.
Can I fish at Ella Lake?
- Public access to Ella Lake is listed as no on the lake record, so confirm before you make the trip. Seasons, size and bag limits, and whether you need a license are set by Minnesota's fish and wildlife agency, so check its current regulations before you go.
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Where this data comes from
5 measurements from 1 monitoring station, 2022. Retrieved from the EPA Water Quality Portal on 2026-08-02.
Collected and reported by
- Minnesota Pollution Control Agency - Ambient Surface Water
MNPCA5 samples · 2022
Analytical methods
- Field measurement/observation, generic method
- Phosphorus by Colorimetry
- 10200 H ~ Chlorophyll a-b-c Determination
- 2130 B ~ Nephelometric Method
- 2120 B ~ Color in Water by Visual Comparison
Monitoring station identifiers (1)
EPA condition classes from the National Lakes Assessment (EPA 841-R-24-006, Table 6-3), applied by ecoregion. See where the data comes from and data sources.
Other records on this page
Lake size & watershed from HydroLAKES (HydroSHEDS)
Lake details from Minnesota DNR LakeFinder